Govt urges digital media platforms to refrain from publishing betting ads
New Delhi, October 3: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued two advisories on Monday, one for private television channels and one for digital news publishers and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, asking that they refrain from displaying advertisements for online betting sites and surrogate advertisements for such sites.
The Ministry previously issued an advisory on June 13, 2022, directing newspapers, private TV channels, and digital news publishers not to publish advertisements for online betting platforms.
According to the ministry, the government was made informed that various sports channels on television and OTT platforms had recently shown advertisements for offshore online betting platforms and their surrogate news websites.
The advisories were supported by data that included direct and surrogate advertisements for offshore betting platforms like Fairplay, PariMatch, Betway, Wolf 777, and 1xBet. According to the advisory, online offshore betting platforms are now exploiting news websites as surrogate products to sell their platforms on digital media.
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The ministry has found that the logos of surrogate news websites have significant similarities to betting platforms in such cases. Furthermore, the ministry has noted that neither the betting platforms nor the news websites in India are registered with any legal authority. According to the ministry, such websites advertise betting and gambling as surrogate advertising under the guise of news.
“Such advertisements are not in conformity with various related laws and have strongly advised TV channels as well as digital news publishers from broadcasting such betting platforms or their surrogate news websites, reminding TV channels that violation may invite penal action. The ministry has also advised online advertisement intermediaries to not target such advertisements toward Indian audiences,” the ministry, in its advisory, said.
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-PTC News
